


Old Traditions Never Die

by awkwardCerberus



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Adolescent Raptors, But whatever, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Other, it fit, not really angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-04-04 20:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4152180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardCerberus/pseuds/awkwardCerberus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day that Owen secretly prayed would never come had finally come. His girls were too big to live with him, and they had to be moved into the paddock.</p><p>Or, some basic Raptor Squad feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Traditions Never Die

**Author's Note:**

> after staying up all hours of the night texting headcanons back and forth with a certain friend (you know who you are) i took one of them and shit this thing out. 
> 
> Viola (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
> 
> Rating for language

She was doing it again. God dammit, she was doing it again. He hated when she did that. It made him feel like he had just murdered a kitten.

Owen closed the restraint down around Blue's head and tried desperately to ignore her pleading eyes. He tightened the lock on the side of the metal clamp and checked the doors that closed around her shoulders. If he could have traded places with her, he would have. He could hear the four of them trying to squirm around in the tiny stalls in the trailer, but their heads were still held firmly in place. This was their first time in the cages, and when Owen first saw them he thought they more resembled torture equipment than transportation gear. When the driver came around to closed the loading door, he insisted for the umpteenth time that Owen take the second seat up front in the cab of the converted cattle trailer. Likewise, Owen _insisted_ that he stuff it, because there was no way he was going to leave his girls.

From outside, the cab door slammed, and there were a couple of knocks on the wall of the trailer. All four raptors darted their eyes to Owen, but before he could say something reassuring, the trailer lurched forward. As the truck pulled away from Owen's bungalow, the raptors growled and yipped in their restraints. At the end of the trailer, Echo was kicking around in her stall and trying to pull her head out of the metal frame that held it. The truck took a sharp turn onto the main road, and Owen had to fight against being thrown against the floor, in order to stand up. When he finally managed to get over to Echo, she was thrashing around completely and trying to wriggle her head from side to side in her muzzle. The gravel on the road made the floor and walls of the trailer rattle, and Echo's low growl had turned to a nervous squawking. 

Owen put a hand on the ridge above the raptor's eye and stroked her gently with his thumb—mumbling calming nothings to her until she quieted. Her sisters were still jumpy, but at least Echo wasn't at a risk of breaking down her stall walls. The driver slid open the panel behind the seat and glanced back over his shoulder. Delta was closest to the window, and snarled at the driver when he looked in.

He was talking to Owen, but he kept his stare on Delta. "Hey, uh...everything alright back there?"

Delta snarled again and smacked her tail against the sides of her stall —making it clear she didn't like him for putting her and her siblings in the trailer. Owen ducked around the other raptors' heads until he reached Delta. He ran a hand down the side of her neck and cooed softly.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine," he replied bitterly.

The driver gave a curt nod and slid the door closed. Owen continued to stroke Delta until she let out a dull purr. Charlie and Blue were the only two who had stayed relatively calm, and for that Owen was happy. They still jumped a little when truck hit a bump, but at least they weren't threatening to bash down their stalls. At least, until the truck began to go up the hill that led to the new paddock. 

Owen gripped one of the handrails a little harder than he would have liked, and swore. _Fuck._ And he had just calmed them down too. 

The engine choked as the trailer began to tilt back on the road. Owen could hear the raptors' claws scraping as they tried to find purchase on the metal flooring. They slid with the trailer—a series of loud, clanging _thunks_ as each of his girls slid into the walls. The growling and shrieking started up again; and already Echo was back at trying to wriggle her head out of the restraints. He knew he couldn't go over to her without sliding all the way into the door, and he _really_ didn't want to break through and fall out onto the road.  _  
_

Owen held up his free hand, and whistled over the noise of the truck, "girls, eyes on me! Look at me! Good..." The raptors stopped struggling and turned to their trainer; Owen put his hand down and dug into his pockets for his clicker. He clicked the button a few times for his girls and shoved it back in his vest. "I know you hate this, but I promise it's almost over. Kay?"

Just as he finished talking, the truck screeched to a stop and one of the security staff pulled open the trailer door. Echo looked at him and gave him a throaty growl until the man jumped back; Owen barked her name, and she immediately quieted. Owen started at the front with Delta—unlocking the clamp, and pulling the metal restraint away from her head,many folding it away in itself, before moving down the line to do Blue, Charlie, and Echo. They were all glad to be able to move their heads again, chirping and chittering happily behind Owen as they were freed. Owen jumped out of trailer and was about to hit the button that opened the stall doors, when a small cluster of ACU guards walked up—armed with catch poles and taxer prods. Barry was running up behind them, trying to talk them down. 

He came up next to Owen, throwing a small wave to the raptors, before talking, "I told them they would not need those, but they insisted."

"As long as they stay out of the way..."

Owen didn't hate the ACU, he just hated how they always assumed every little thing was some huge issue. But he could never resist an opportunity to show off. The trainer whistled again to get his girls' attention, before he pushed the release button. They all scrambled over each other to get out of the trailer, causing everyone—aside from Owen and Barry, that is—to jump back a few feet. The raptors knew to stay close to their Alpha, but they couldn't help sniffing at the gravel, at the air, and looking questioningly at the metal walls and cages and doors of the paddock. The first thing they noticed was the stalls in the main entry cage that were exactly like the ones in the trailer. Blue stared at those distastefully, but ignored them after a second. Owen let them have their moment, before whistling again and holding his hand up over his head. The girls knew what that meant, and gathered in an awkward circle behind him. He led them into the small entry cage—the door automatically slid closed behind them as Owen pressed the button that opened the other. When it was clear, he let them go through before shutting the cage behind them to make his way up to the catwalk. 

He was pleased to look down and find that the raptors immediately took to the new paddock. Blue was cautious about investigating the forested section, but she eventually found it acceptable and gave, what Owen had come to recognize as, the "everything's alright" warble. In minutes the four of them were butting heads and running around like little kids. All at once Owen felt bittersweet. He had never wanted children, but it would seem that he got them anyway, and now he understood the phrase "they grow up so fast". They were adolescents now, and growing quickly. They were almost as tall as Owen now, and they'd get a lot bigger. He couldn't hold them in his arms, or let them crawl up his shoulders, or allow them to come into his bed at night. He had regretted having to do it, but signing the paperwork to move them into the paddock was necessary.

"You will miss them, won'tchu? Now that they're here and not at home."

Owen jumped at the voice; he hadn't even heard Barry walking over. "Yeah. I swear, it was just yesterday I brought them home. I mean, I know I'll still see them ever day, but....I don't know, Barry."

"Here, my friend," he handed the trainer a bucket of dead mice, "let them enjoy their new home."

Owen hung the bucket in the fence and pulled out his clicker. They practiced the same drills they had done a hundred times before, and as always, the girls behaved perfectly. At first, when Owen had whistled at them, they were confused by not seeing him, but after a few moments they found him on the catwalk and adjusted. After a few hours. The sun began to set, and Owen let them have the rest of the time off. He came down into the paddock and let the girls play with him; tug-of-war with Charlie until Delta got jealous and wanted a turn, he threw Blue's ball for her and let her run after it, he picked up a hose and sprayed the mud off Echo until the other three decided to join in. 

Before he had time to realize how late it was, it was already dark out.  Barry helped him round the girls up and get them into the covered cage where they were going to sleep. Owen went in first, and was immediately underwhelmed at his team's new arrangement. It was rather large room, but that didn't detract fron the fact that it looked like a prison cell. A metal floor scattered with straw, cold metal walls with several barred windows, all under a metal roof. He knew that the room was only for use during storms or a lockdown, but still. He stepped out of the way so his girls could file in, them equally as underwhelmed as their Alpha. Blue came in last, and turned to Owen—giving him a dejected whine and those sad eyes of hers.

Owen felt his heart sink through him to the floor, "I know, Blue. I hate it too. But it's the rules. I'll still be by everyday. Kay? Promise."

The raptor gave another saddened garble and butted her head against Owen's shoulder until he caved and petted her neck. There were bumps on his other shoulder and hands, and soon Charlie, Delta, and Echo were vying for his attention to. After a long moment of sad raptor noises and Owen trying to split up his affection evenly, he finally had to leave them. When he went over to the door controls, he pushed the button, but only let the door close a quarter of the way. 

As he stepped out, he told one of the staff to always make sure the door never closed any more, so that if the raptors wanted to go out into the paddock at night, they could. Owen could feel four sets of yellow eyes watching his back, and a large part of him wanted to turn around and run back to them. But he could never do that. He just kept on walking until the doors shut behind him and he was away from the paddock. He declined a ride back home, and walked back down the main road with his hands in his pockets. He felt like a father who just gave away his kids. He couldn't stop thinking about when the girls were as small as cats. 

On the first night he had brought them home, he let them sleep in a spereate room in a pile of blankets. When he woke up the next morning, there were baby raptors curled together in a ball up by his face and a giant hole in the bottom of his door. He remembered when the vet had warned him that their immune systems were weak, and he had ignored her. At least, until he showed up at her lab at four in the morning, sopping wet from the storm outside, carrying a bundle of four very ill baby raptors. He remembered waiting out side the surgery while they had their tracking implants put in, fearing the worst until the vet came out with a crate containing the world's four most stoned baby velociraptors (he still has the picture of the four of them in their cones of shame on his nightstand). Or the time that he had a date with the park's supervisor, and Charlie and Delta had clawed up the only pair of nice pants that he owned, so he had to wear board shorts. 

 

His bungalow was much too quiet that night.

 

3:27 A.M. That's what his watch said. Owen had barely slept since he had gotten home. And he could give four reasons why. He could still hear them—his home was two and a half miles away from the paddock and he could still hear his girls shrieking and crying in there. It wasn't like he could just ask for them back, he had already signed them over. Their cries were barely audible, but to Owen they might as well have been right in his ear. He knew they missed him, and he missed them too, but there was really nothing he could do. What was he going to do? Break into the raptor paddock to sleep with his baby girls? The second the thought crossed his mind, Owen was already lunging for his jeans and shirt. It was a terrible idea—it really was—but his girls wouldn't stop screaming. They needed their rest, and the staff probably needed their ear drums. Besides, being this early in the morning, the security was probably little to nothing—and the ACU team had already returned to the main park. After all, they were his girls and they needed their Alpha. So, Owen shoved his feet into his boots and drove off on his motorcycle.

The security around the paddock was alarmingly lax—the only few guards were sitting around a table eating behind where the trucks were parked. The outer gate of the entry cage was wide open--the second one was still locked, though. Owen let out a huff and rolled his eyes. He was trying to sneak in, and opening the gate from the controls would be loud enough to wake both the security and the raptors. But, on the other hand, his girls were crying loud enough that they would cover the door noises. And it's not like he's a criminal; he's a concerned trainer checking on the well-being of his charges.  Why the hell was he worried?

The door was relatively quiet, but Owen only let it open enough for him to crawl through, before closing it again. From where he was standing, he could see all four raptors in the side-room. They all looked miserable in the metal space. Even in the dark he could tell them apart. Blue was laying down next to the door with her head flopping across the frame, trying to sleep against the others' noise; Charlie was pacing around the space, scratching at the walls when she got close to one; Delta and Echo were screeching and clawing at the ledge under the windows. None of them noticed him, but when he got closer, Blue picked her head up and looked at him with a dull happiness. She smacked her tail against the metal floor with a  _thunk_ to get the other's attentions. The other three raptors immediately stopped their commotions and turned to face Owen. 

He stepped into the space, a calm smile on his face and outstretched hands. Blue stood up and chittered to her sisters, who all began to surround Owen and bump their heads to his chest for affection. He ran his hands along the backs of their necks in turn, calling them every praise he knew. Delta and Echo's purrs were cracked and hoarse and he frowned knowing they'd shrieked themselves hoarse. But at least the had calmed down. He let them pull him onto the ground and lay around him--typical pack behavior, letting the Alpha sleep in the center for protection. They had only done it a million times before. Blue made it her point to always sleep by his head, and the others let her because she was the oldest and because it was her right as Beta to offer the best protection she could for her Alpha. The other three piled around him, lumping together on either side of him.  _Yeah..._ Owen thought,  _there is no way I'm getting used to having an empty bungalow._

 

Owen nearly jumped out of his skin when he woke up. It was more of a two-part startle, actually. The first part was the cocking of the ACU's heavy duty shotguns that had him twitching; the second part--the part that woke him--was Blue hissing about an inch from his ear. He blinked for a second before he realized what the hell was actually happening. 

" ** _What the fuck?! Stand_ _down!!_** " Owen stood up from where he had been laying his head on Blue's stomach. The older raptor stood up with him and took a step forward. The other three prepared to do the same, but Owen held his hands out and they stayed where they were. The trainer brushed straw off his pants and directed his attention to the multiple guards aiming guns at him and his girls. "Someone wanna tell me what's going on?"

The center guard--a young man, no older than thirty--nodded for everyone to lower their guns, before speaking. "One of the staff saw you laying with the assets and thought something happened. We came out when we heard. We all thought you were dead. I mean...we're glad you got them to shut up and all, but--ya know--you find a guy on the ground surrounded by velociraptors and you automatically assume the worst."

Charlie, Delta and Echo had all stood up at the word "asset", but as long as Owen was there they didn't dare to move--the snarled threateningly, but they didn't move. 

"Well, I wasn't dead...obviously. I could hear them screaming from two miles away. What was I supposed to do?"

A female voice parted the guards and a woman in a white business suit and heels stepped into the space, "So...you snuck into the paddock to sleep with your raptors,  _Mister Grady_?"

"It's  _Owen_ , Claire. And yes, I did. Because my girls needed me." As if to prove a point Blue nuzzled his shoulder, "They were put into an unfamiliar environment and separated from their Alpha. They missed me."

Claire rolled here eyes back and dispatched the guards back to the truck. Echo took a step towards the new woman, and glared at her as a warning. Owen snapped his fingers and she backed away--still glaring. His raptors could feel the tension between the two humans, and it was making them as fidgety as it was making their Alpha. Their trainer whistled and gave them the hand signal that meant they were free to go, and the raptors ran off into the paddock after each other. Claire stepped into the space and gave Owen a quick once over and a cocky half-frown.

"No one wears shorts on a first date."

"Oh, for the love of--I can't believe you're still on that!" He threw his head back and ran his hands down his face, "and you had an itinerary, for Chrissakes!"

Claire paused for a moment before letting out a curt laugh and walking out into the paddock. She walked with a fearless air about her, knowing the raptors would move an inch as long as Owen was watching them. Regardless, she paused a few feet from where the trainer was and looked over her shoulder, "I have a feeling that this will happen again,  _Owen._ If it does--which I know it probably will...at least tell someone first."

Owen threw he a mock salute and watched her leave. Once she was out of the gate, he whistled for his girls and pulled his clicker from his vest. The four of them ran over and stood in an obedient line before him. Oh yeah, there was no way he'd ever get used to not having them constantly around.

 

Thus, began the sacred tradition of Owen Grady showing up at least one night out of the week, to sleep in the raptor paddock with his girls.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, this is unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine, and I apologize.


End file.
